Chapter 131: Heavy Casualties!

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Chu Xiao wanted Wang Lulu to push him outside to see how the battle was going, but Wang Lulu refused. She absolutely would not allow Chu Xiao to go out recklessly now. However, as more and more wounded soldiers were brought in, Chu Xiao grew restless and kept insisting on going to the frontline. With no other choice, Wang Lulu could only push him to find General Wang Tao.

On the way to see Wang Tao, Chu Xiao saw a continuous stream of casualties being sent to the hospital, which made his anxiety escalate.

“General Wang Tao, how is the battle situation now?”

As soon as Wang Tao saw Chu Xiao arrive, he immediately put down his work and came to greet him. Wang Tao personally took the wheelchair and pushed Chu Xiao to the command post.

“Lieutenant General Chu, you’ve come at just the right time. Come give us some advice on how this battle should be fought!”

“I suggest we concentrate our firepower first to eliminate the ground robots!” Chu Xiao analyzed the current situation. Clearly, the Underworld King’s strongest robots were aerial units, while the ground robots acted in coordination with the air units to launch attacks.

But the aerial units—the hummingbird drones and fire-breathing birds—were fast and difficult to hit, so the priority should be to take out the ground robots first. Then we can focus solely on the aerial units. Fighting both air and ground simultaneously is too difficult.

Wang Tao was enlightened by Chu Xiao’s suggestion. He immediately ordered the troops to follow Chu Xiao’s plan. Soon, the tide of battle began to turn, no longer so passive.

“Chu Xiao, you truly are a natural leader—just a few words and you’ve reversed the tide of battle!”

“General Wang Tao, don’t praise me yet. Although the situation is now favorable, we cannot afford to be careless.”

Although the Underworld King had lost some ground units, it was impossible to eliminate them all. They must take advantage of the moment when the ground firepower is weaker to focus on the airborne robots.

In truth, Chu Xiao was buying time, waiting for reinforcements from Unit One. For now, they were only holding on by a thread.

The Underworld King knew Chu Xiao was commanding the troops and understood his intent. He ordered all robots to mobilize, aiming to capture Pearl City in one decisive strike.

At this point, Chu Xiao’s forces had already suffered over half casualties. If they couldn’t withstand this assault, they would have to retreat entirely to Yanjing.

Chu Xiao instructed Wang Lulu to inform all citizens of Pearl City to pack up and prepare for evacuation at any moment.

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Everyone present disagreed with the idea of retreating, determined to stand or fall with Pearl City. But Chu Xiao would never accept losing Pearl City while Yanjing remained intact. He refused to let so many soldiers die in vain.

“Report! We’re barely holding on; the Underworld King’s forces are about to break through!”

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiao prepared to order a full retreat to Yanjing. But at that moment, reinforcements from Unit One arrived, lifting everyone’s morale.

Chu Xiao’s forces unleashed firepower far stronger than before. Seeing the sudden surge, the Underworld King immediately realized the reinforcements from Yanjing had arrived.

He ordered a retreat; continuing the fight was now meaningless, only causing more casualties. Perhaps the other three nations were also coming to help.

If those forces arrived, the Underworld King would be caught in a pincer attack, unable to escape. Seeing the enemy withdraw, Chu Xiao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as the Underworld King had guessed, the other three nations had received the news and were rushing to assist. Had he delayed retreating, death would have awaited him.

As night fell, Chu Xiao greeted Wang Tao and had Wang Lulu push him back. When they reached the hospital entrance, they saw it was already crowded to capacity.

Nearly a hundred tents of various sizes had been set up inside, all occupied by wounded soldiers. Upon seeing Chu Xiao approaching, they all eagerly asked about the battle’s outcome.

“Everyone, rest assured and heal. We’ve repelled the Underworld King. Once we’ve recovered, we will fight him again!”

“All right! We will recover as soon as possible and join Lieutenant General Chu in defeating the Underworld King!”

The soldiers were overjoyed at the news of the enemy’s retreat. They had been at a disadvantage, but as soon as Chu Xiao arrived, he immediately turned the tide. They all admired him greatly.

Chu Xiao then told them to rest well. Wang Lulu pushed him inside the hospital, where he saw six severely wounded soldiers occupying his ward.

Soon after, Wang Yan arrived carrying food. She was stunned to see so many people in the ward, briefly thinking she had entered the wrong room.

“What’s going on? How did so many people end up here this afternoon?”

Wang Yan was about to leave but then saw Wang Lulu and Chu Xiao, realizing she hadn’t made a mistake—these were new patients.

“The Underworld King launched an attack this afternoon. Many were injured and the hospital was full, so I arranged for these severely wounded to stay here,” Wang Lulu explained.

Wang Yan finally understood. The tents outside the hospital sheltered many injured soldiers. She had been wondering why tents were set up there in the first place.

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Wang Yan brought in lunch boxes. She had prepared more food than usual today, which was perfect for sharing with the wounded. She had worried about wasting food otherwise.

During the meal, Chu Xiao not only distributed the food among the injured but also personally fed some of them. The soldiers’ admiration for him grew even stronger.

In the following days, Wang Yan continued to prepare extra meals and ate alongside the soldiers. Meanwhile, Wang Lulu pushed Chu Xiao around to check on the soldiers’ recovery.

Some lightly wounded soldiers had already been discharged; most of the remaining were severely injured or had difficulty moving. Chu Xiao spent each day chatting with them, telling stories about how to defeat the Underworld King.

The soldiers loved hearing Chu Xiao’s talks daily. During these days together, they found him remarkably down-to-earth, lacking any airs of a general.

Chu Xiao no longer felt so confined by his injury. Before long, he was able to slowly walk on his own.

The Underworld King hadn’t made any moves during this period. He had clearly underestimated Kyushu’s fighting strength, which far exceeded his expectations. He hadn’t anticipated such rapid advancements in weapon development.

Chu Xiao’s recovery was swift. He wanted to visit Yanjing to check how the meteorite extraction was progressing. The current supply of solar energy was alarmingly low.

Pearl City had only received two units, Yanjing had no more than five, and West Mountain Province had none at all. The extraction speed of the meteorite was far too slow; they had to find a way to accelerate it.

One morning, Chu Xiao rose early, dressed, and prepared to go out. Wang Lulu pushed open the door and came in, noticing something was amiss.

“Where are you going? Are you planning to go to Yanjing?”

Wang Lulu guessed what Chu Xiao had been thinking these past few days. She wanted to stop him but had no grounds; his injury had just improved, and she didn’t want him to overexert himself.

“Yes, I plan to check on the meteorite extraction and weapons production. Since you’re here, you can come with me.”

Chu Xiao knew it would be difficult to go out alone without Wang Lulu’s consent. Wang Lulu also realized she couldn’t stop him, so it was better to accompany him and take care of him.

“Then you must see the nurse first to have your dressing changed before we go.”

“All right, I’ll do whatever you say, Lulu.”